Punishment
by xloudxloud
Summary: "Gajeel-kun knows he cannot hit Juvia. The warning wasn't for her," Juvia paused, her face grim. "It was for you. Don't follow him. Juvia won't let you." With that, she positioned herself between the door and her confused guild mates.
1. Chapter 1

Fairy Tail does not belong to me. This is my first fanfiction. Please read and review.

I was reading the reviews when I realized that I uploaded the wrong doc. Here is the complete one. I fixed the repeated paragraph.

* * *

Drip drip drop… Rain water leaked through a crack in the ceiling into one of Cana's empty barrels. The card mage watched as the water fell, feeling slightly apprehensive. The usually loud guild hall was almost silent. The unexpected rain had put the whole guild on edge, even Natsu was subdued. There was a chance that the downpour was natural – it wouldn't be out of season – but it come without warning and felt…off somehow. Until Juvia made an appearance no one could relax.

Mira efficiently filled mugs and wiped down counters while glancing periodically at the door. Everyone's attention bounced from their current activities to the closed door and the rain hitting the window every so often. The rain picked up and the door opened. The wizards watched as the pink parasol was closed and Juvia entered. By now all of Fairy Tail had witnessed her extreme moods swings. It wasn't unusual for her to go from joyously stalking Gray to glowering at Lucy to hopelessly daydreaming in one sitting. The girl's emotions ran extreme and she did little to hide them. They didn't know if they had ever seen her so apathetic before today. No one even bothered to pretend to be not watching her, waiting for her next move.

Juvia's eyes scanned the room, disinterested, before her gaze landed on Mirajane. The kind bartender smiled encouragingly as the water mage slowly walked to the counter. "Welcome back Juvia. How did your job go?"

The bluenette suddenly found the wood grain of the counter interesting. "Is Master Makarov here today?" Juvia asked listlessly, avoiding the question.

Mira frowned and studied the girl in front of her. As far as she could tell Juvia was uninjured but her blank expression was troubling. "He's in his office," Mira replied, nodding towards the door. "I'm sure he can see you now if you need to speak with him."

The water mage stiffened momentarily before thanking Mira and walking to the office. Each click of her deliberate steps seemed to echo in the unnatural silence of the guild. The moment the door closed the room began to buzz.

"Wonder what happened on her job?"

"Which one did she take again?"

"Where's Gajeel? He might know…"

"Do you really want to ask him?!"

"Well, what about Gray then?"

"What if it's about Gray?"

"Don't we have better things to do than sitting around and speculating?" Mira's voice rang above the quiet murmur. Attention snapped to the habitually nosey barmaid. "If we want any answers someone is going to have to man the door."

* * *

Gray was leaning against the wall of the master's office, his clothes currently in place. He'd checked. Makarov was gawking at the paper he held, ignoring the ignoring the young mage's arguments. Just as he was about to continue to explain how the bill for his last mission wasn't really his fault – the bandits had helped – and, really, the damage the town had cited was probably exaggerated, Juvia stepped in. He eyed her warily and prepared for her to jump on him and proclaim how badly she had missed her Gray-sama. She didn't even glance in his direction. Instead she immediately dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead to the ground. Makarov looked at her in surprise before turning his questioning gaze to Gray. Unfortunately, he was just as clueless as the guild master.

Makarov cleared his throat, "Juvia…"

"Master, Juvia failed her last job," she interrupted softly. The curtain of blue hair hiding her face muffled her words. "She didn't mean to damage the reputation of Fairy Tail. It won't happen again. Juvia is sorry."

As Makarov took a step closer to her, she tensed as though expecting to be struck. His brow furrowed as he considered how to best approach this situation. The girl did not rise from her spot on the ground nor did she raise her head. Until he could find a way to respond she was unlikely to move. He didn't really understand why she seemed so distressed or her apology. He sighed.

"Juvia will accept any punishment you decide on." Her words were strained, still barely above a whisper.

Gray groaned. He didn't like where this was going but at least this was familiar territory. Makarov's eyes widened as he sweat-dropped.

"Please allow Juvia another chance to prove she is worthy of being a Fairy Tail mage. Juvia will not fail again." Her voice was stronger now, holding determination that hadn't been there previously. The men stared at her quizzically before looking at each other. Her words had thrown them off balance… hell the whole situation was throwing them for a loop.

Makarov carefully took another step forward, gauging her reaction. This time there was none. He rested his hand on her bowed head and sighed. "We will discuss your job later my child," he said gently as she flinched. "Right now I believe you need a drink and some time to recover."

Juvia slowly rose to her feet, her face as passive as it had been before. She didn't look to have been comforted by his words as he intended, instead she looked pale. She turned to the door and passed Gray without acknowledging his existence for the second time that day. The door clicked quietly as she made her cautious retreat. While he supposed he should be relieved, the ice mage found himself worried about his excitable stalker.

"Perhaps you should follow her Gray. Maybe you can find out why she was so upset over a few lost jewels. We can talk about your bill later," the guild master said, his eyes on the closed door rather than the boy before him. Gray only nodded before trailing after the dejected bluenette.

* * *

Juvia had found a deserted table near the back that was usually Gajeel's, and sat to nurse her drink. Cana had immediately shared a full mug of her "boyfriend" with the former Phantom girl as soon as she had emerged from the office. No one had tried to speak to her yet. Gray sat at the bar, sparing her occasional glances, while discussing recent jobs with Lucy and Natsu. The storm outside had gotten increasingly severe and no one in the guild wanted to risk it getting worse with their questions. Maybe a few drinks would calm her and someone would be able to approach her. That was Cana's idea anyway and, for lack of a better plan, they had all agreed to it. Unfortunately Juvia seemed uninterested in the drink she held, staring at her mug's contents more often than sipping at it. Before they could think of another plan of attack, the guild door swung violently open.

"Dammit ameonna!" Gajeel snarled as he entered. He looked and felt like a drowned rat. His red eyes scanned the area. He found Gray at the bar but to his surprise Juvia wasn't near him. He blinked. Everyone seemed to be appraising him before their attention centered on a dark corner, his corner, so he followed their gaze. There she was, sitting with a drink, lost in her thoughts.

Scowling, he stomped over to the table. He ignored his new guild mate's strangled noises of disapproval; no one would actually try to stop him, though he could see Macao and Elfman move into positions so that they could react if he threatened the girl. He scoffed. Although it had been months since the Phantom attack they were still wary of him.

"What happened now, ameonna?" He asked gruffly when he reached the table. As Gajeel waited impatiently for a response, he took in her pale appearance and her slow reaction to his arrival. He stepped closer to her, towered over her, protecting her from prying eyes. His eyes narrowed. "This had better not be about your fucking stri-"

"Juvia's last job…," she answered, defeated. She didn't look up from her half finished mug.

The concerned guild members watched the pair with open curiosity. Gajeel glowered at the audience over his shoulder and slowly took a seat across from his longtime partner. He did a cursory scan for wounds though he expected none. The job she had taken…was a simple retrieval right? It hadn't interested him when she had mentioned it several days prior. He couldn't see anything going wrong with something so trivial.

"Gajeel-kun, Juvia failed" she whispered as though it pained her.

Everyone eavesdropping sweat-dropped. All this over a failed job? They expected Gajeel to verbally thrash the poor girl for bothering him with something so senseless. A few tables returned to their previous conversations, interest mostly lost on the cause of the rain. It was just an over achiever that needed to deal with a recent failure. Gray rolled his eyes before strolling back to the office to finish his discussion with the master. Mira, on the other hand, became more curious. She just felt as though a piece, or three, was missing that would explain why Juvia looked like death warmed over and Gajeel look vaguely worried.

"Juvia caught the thief easily enough. Regrettably he destroyed the ornament Juvia was sent to retrieve rather than allowing it to be returned. Even though the man is in custody Juvia failed," she explained quietly, her voice a monotone like it always had been in Phantom. She finally met his eyes and he could see her fear clearly. He felt his apprehension build.

"What did the master say?" he demanded, his fist now clenching the edge of the table. He glared at her, daring her to lie to him.

Juvia knew better than to look away. "He said that he would discuss the job with Juvia later..." Before she could say another word, Gajeel shot up from his seat and started toward the office. "Gajeel-kun!" she yelped in surprise before trying to hastily follow him.

This exchange captured the guild's attention, conversations paused and 'covert' looks were taken. The two ex-Phantom Lord members, who rarely seemed to associate with each other outside of taking jobs (possibly to avoid rumors of espionage), were making one hell of a scene in the middle of the guild hall. Lucy had both hands covering Natsu's mouth while she gawked at the two. Quick glances were soon replaced with blatant stares as Juvia grabbed his arm and planted her feet only to be dragged behind an unaffected iron dragon slayer.

When they reached the bar, Juvia desperately tried reasoning with him. "Gajeel-kun will only going to make things worse! Just leave things be!"

He ignored her and continued to the door, acting like he was unaware that she was attempting to use her insignificant weight to anchor him. In a last ditch attempt to keep him from opening the door, Juvia flung herself unto his back.

"Juvia can take care of herself. Gajeel-kun, ple-" she was arguing before he threw her into the bar counter. Gasps could be heard around the room. Mira made to move around and help the girl as she gave Gajeel a look that promised pain. Juvia used the counter top to steady herself and he sent an iron spike through her hand. A warning shot. Chairs scraped the floor and its patrons stood.

Juvia gave one last pleading look at his disappearing back before the door closed. Lightning streaked across the sky and the rain pounded against the window panes. As she straightened herself, keeping her impaled hand on the counter, Mira made it to her side. Natsu, somewhat restrained by Lucy, reached her next and examined the iron spike.

"I can't believe that he would attack you like this!" Lucy said in outrage. Natsu turned to the door to follow the other dragon slayer and Juvia's hand shot out to stop him. They watched as her semi-aquatic hand passed though the spike, undamaged.

"Gajeel-kun knows he cannot hit Juvia. The warning wasn't for her," Juvia paused, her face grim. "It was for you. Don't follow him. Juvia won't let you." With that, she positioned herself between the door and her confused guild mates.


	2. Chapter 2

"...three homes completely destroyed and an orchard devastated by frost," Makarov read though the itemized list of damages. "Just how many bandits were there? Anything short of a small army and you're paying the costs out of pock-"

The door slammed open to reveal a belligerent iron slayer, his red eyes narrow as he regarded the short man in front of him. The commotion outside was cut off as quickly as it was exposed as the door closed. Before Gray or Makarov could do more than stare at the intruder, Gajeel threw himself to the floor, assuming a similar position that Juvia had earlier that day. Gray's jaw nearly hit the floor to see the gruff metal head in such a subservient position. Makarov hesitantly approached the young man, bewildered by what could have brought this on.

"Please allow me to take what ever punishment you have for Juvia. I will make sure that she doesn't fail again," he practically growled, his words at odds with his tone.

Makarov's eyebrows shot up and he frowned. For Juvia to act like this was one thing, the girl could be a bit eccentric, but for Gajeel to take this just as seriously? When he had allowed the two ex-Phantom wizards into his guild he had known there would be a few bumps as they adjusted, he just hadn't realized how major some of them would be. He needed to straighten this mess out. "No one is getting punished. Fairy Tail does not punish its children for such small things. Please get up off the floor."

Gajeel eyed him suspiciously before slowing rising to his feet. Makarov smiled at him, hoping to reassure the dragon slayer. The iron mage didn't relax his rigid posture.

"Gray, make yourself useful and go fetch Juvia," Makarov requested after a few moments. Gajeel started to protest but the words died on his lips at the master's small shake of his head. He settled on glowering at the topless man, noticing him for the first time. Gray could feel the unspoken threat when he moved to follow orders: Do it and face his wrath. Unfortunately it was also don't do it and face Makarov. Gray figured he'd have a better chance against the metal head than the master.

Gray sighed as he left the room. None of what just happened made sense and he was happy to leave it. He looked up and blinked. Then blinked again. For a second he considered returning to Master Makarov's office. He could deal with that level of crazy. This on the other hand… The scene in front of him was familiar, mostly, although everyone involved seemed somewhat alarmed with the situation. Natsu was fired up for a fight while Lucy tried to calm him down. Mira played mediator, attempting to maintain peace. It was Natsu's opponent that surprised him. Juvia stood facing Natsu, water cane ready. This day was getting weirder by the minute.

Mira and Natsu saw him first and immediately looked relieved. Juvia shifted, reluctant to turn away from the people in front of her but needing to see who had emerged from the office. Gray ran a hand through his hair and approached her.

"Um, Juvia?" She jumped a little in surprise. Gray hadn't been who she'd expected. The water whips disappeared as she faced him though she couldn't quite force herself to look at him.

"The master wants to talk to you. Gajeel is in there too," Gray continued lamely.

For a moment Gray could see absolute panic in her eyes. Then she bowed her head and walked past him without sparing him a word and disappeared into the room.

Lucy gingerly touched his arm and he could see the question and concern in her eyes. It was mirrored faces of Mira and Natsu, hell he probably looked the same. Maybe between them they could figure out what was going on.

* * *

The rain had stopped but the clouds remained. This put everyone at ease and the liveliness of the guild had started to return. Gray watched as the former Phantom Lord mages entered the bar area. Conversations faded to nothing as curious eyes followed the pair. The hulking figure of Gajeel partially blocked Juvia from view. From what he could see Juvia had regained what little color she had but she still looked miserable. She stared intently at her feet as though she was hoping the ground would swallow her. Once they reached the center of the room, they paused; seeming to just realize that they had captured everyone's attention. Juvia seemed distressed as she surveyed the crowd. Gajeel's garnet eyes challenged anyone to approach.

Juvia gave Gajeel a quick glance from the corner of her eye. He acknowledged her with a sharp nod before sending an iron pillar at Natsu. Quickly a brawl broke out and people jumped in with gusto, attention successfully diverted from the water user. Juvia gracefully avoided flying bodies and bar stools as she approached the door. For the first time that day Juvia looked straight at Gray. He wished she hadn't. He didn't want to see the look of shame that shone in normally jovial girl's blue eyes.

Gray stood at the edges of the fray considering his options. As much as he itched to join in, his nakama's strange behavior demanded he take action. He tripped over a broken bar stool and stumbled outside.

He realized he was essentially stalking his stalker. Well attempting to at least. There was no sign of Juvia even though she only was a few minutes ahead of him. He leaned against the building and realized he had lost his top. She probably headed home. He wan't sure he could take her reaction to him showing up at her dorm. Then again with the way this day was going... Gray sighed, grabbed his shirt from the wet ground and started walking to Fairy Hills.

Of course the dorm matron refused to allow him entry. Nothing he could say would sway her. She did, however, inform him hat Juvia had not returned to the dorm yet and that if he tried to sneak in to confirm this she would sic Erza on him. Gray didn't have any idea where Juvia could be so he decided to go home and wait for her at the guild tomorrow morning. Hopefully the world would be back to normal then.

* * *

"You know Juvia is strong enough to take care of herself. Why did you intervene?"

Gajeel should have known better than to expect a moment of peace when he had retreated to his house after a rather entertaining bar fight. Although he knew Juvia would be waiting for him, he had hoped that he would be able to get out of his damp clothing before she started in on him. He groaned in annoyance. Fuck it, he wasn't going to be lectured while physically uncomfortable. He entered his room, stripped his shirt off and threw it in a corner. Juvia watched him from her spot on the bed, unimpressed and uninterested. She was still waiting for him to answer.

"I did it because you need this. You need what Fairy Tail is offering. Because it would hurt you more than it would me if this place had turned out more like Phantom than we'd figured."

He had his back turned to her still. Juvia studied his tense shoulders before allowing her eyes to drift to the various scars that littered his body. She scowled when her gaze settled on a scar on his lower back that had faded over the years. He had other more impressive scars than this one left from far more serious wounds. It wasn't the only scar he had because of her. It wasn't the first and, knowing him, it wouldn't be the last. But it was this scar that bothered Juvia the most. A battle hadn't resulted in the wound, just Gajeel being infuriatingly stubborn and loyal. And incredibly stupid in her opinion. It had been rather effective punishment though. While Juvia was not harmed, she learned to put her life on the line to successfully complete a job in fear that Gajeel would suffer for her mistakes. This would be the first time Juvia botched a job in years. And Gajeel had once again tried to shield her from the possible consequence. Tears burned in her eyes but she refused to cry.

Gajeel could feel her staring at him, burning accusations into his side. He turned to glare at the girl in his bed, not surprised when glared back. Then he smirked and added, "Let's face it, I mostly did it for me. My meals taste better without the shitty rust aftertaste that comes with your rain, ameonna. Gihihi."

That succeeded in pulling a small smile from Juvia. Gajeel moved to the unoccupied side of the bed and sprawled on top of the covers. He doubted he had talked himself out of a Juvia style rant but he was fairly confident that she wasn't going to drown him. Not tonight at least. She shifted and tugged ineffectively on the comforter before settling. Her silence was beginning to bother him so he moved slightly to face the girl.

Her sad blue eyes bore into him. She cupped his cheek gently. "Thank you," she whispered. "For everything, always."

Gajeel covered her small hand with his own and pressed his lips softly against her palm. She rewarded him with a bright smile. Juvia slowly retracted her hand and closed her eyes. He wasn't sure if she would stay over with him that night but he knew that she would be gone before he woke up.


End file.
